Pneumatic railway brake



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

L. SOULERIN.

PNEUMATIC RAILWAY BRAKE.

No. 467,060. Patented Jan. 12, 1892.

Fig- 3-- WITNESSES ATTOHNEYJ' mums PEYEIS ca, HMO-Luna" hummer n c (NoModel.) 4 SheetsSheet 2.

L. SOULERIN.

PNEUMATIC RAILWAY BRAKE.

N0. 467,060. Patented Jan. 12, 1892.

Arm/mm TMK norms Finns 120., PNDTD-LIYHO., WASHINGYQN, n, (:4

(No Modl.) 4 SheetsSheet 3.

L. SOULERIN. PNEUMATIC RAILWAY BRAKE.

No. 467,060. Patented Jan. 12, 1892.

WITNESSES NVENTOR a @MM PQ'M 8mm w (11X Q NrTED STATES PATENT FFICE.

LEON SOULERIN, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

PNEUMATIC RAILWAY-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 467,060, dated January12, 1892.

Application filed January 17, 1888- Serial No. 261,066. (No model.)Patented in Belgium March 31, 1886, No. 72,575, and May20,1886,No.73,197; in France August 31,1886, No. 178,265; in ItalySeptember 30, 1886,1lo.20,526; in Spain October 29, 1886, No, 9,720: inEngland October 29, 1886, No. 13,890, and in Germany May 18, 1887, No.44,697.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LEON SOULERIN, engineer, a citizen of the Republicof France, residing at 4 Rue Marsollier, Paris, in the said Republic,have inven ted certain new and useful Improvements in Pneumatic RailwayBrakes, (for which patents have been obtained in Great Britain, datedOctober 29, 1886, No. 13,890; in France, dated August 31, 1886, No.178,265; in Belgium, dated March 31, 1886, No. 72,575, and May 20, 1886,No. 73,197; in Germany, dated May 18, 1887, No.14,697; in Italy,

September 30, 1886, No. 20,525, and in Spain,

dated October 29, 1886, No. 9,720,) of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to apparatus for operating railway-brakes eitherby means'of compressed air or by means of rarefied air or vacuum.

In carrying out this invention with reference to compressed-air brakesthe locomotive 2 (or other convenient part ofthe train) is provided withan air-pump and a steam-pump operating the air-pump, a maincompressedair reservoir, and an engineers valve. Each vehicle com posingthetrain carries apparatus illustrated in section in Figure 2, andconsisting of a distributing-valve S, an auxiliary compressed-airreservoir B and a brake-cylinderF, containing one or more pistons ordiaphragms operated by the compressed air, as

hereinafter described. The air compressed by the pump is conducted tothe main reservoir, in which it is stored for use as required, its exittherefrom being governed by the engineeris valve, through which it mustpass to the main pipe Z extending along the train. The compressed airfrom the main reservoir passing through the engineers valve enters trolsthe communication between the auxiliary air-reservoir and thebrake-cylinder, while the other controls the communication between thebrake-cylinder and the air. The diaphragms m n are connected by a rodupon which is mounted a valve a, and the diaphragms p q are'connectedtogether by means of a hollow rod 19 in which is fitted a check-valve 5.To this hollow rod is also fixed another valve f. The upper side of thediaphragm p and the lower side of the diaphragm q are in freecommunication with the external atmosphere. When the full pressure isturned into the brake-pipe, the compressed air from the main reservoiris admitted through the opening 1) into a space between the diaphragms uand 1). It passes thence through the hollow connecting-rod 19*, and,lifting the valve 5 therein, enters'by a passage Z the auxiliaryreservoir, and also fills the space between the valve a and diaphragm n,which diaphragm, thus submitted on both sides to very nearly equalpressures, will retain the valve a to its seat, and the diaphragm '1),being about equal in area to the diaphragm q of the valve f, will alsorest on its seat, but withoutmuch pressure. Whenever the pressure isreduced in the brake-pipe, the valve '3 in the hollow connecting-rodwill be pressed against its seat, and the compressed air contained inthe auxiliary reservoir, acting on the outer surface of the diaphragm q,will 9 cause the valve f to rest heavily on its seat, while the pressureof the air on the under surface of the diaphragm n will cause the valvea to be lifted and allow the air to pass brake-cylinder, and the brakeswill be applied. The introduction of pressure in the brake-pipe willcause the valve a to return to its seat and the valvef to be raised insuch a manner as to let out into the atmosphere, through theexhaust-outlet d, the compressed air which had worked in thebrake-cylinder, and thus the brakes will be removed.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view illustrating a modified construction ofdistributing-valve when working with air-pressure brakes. It consists oftwo independent pairs of pistons m n and p q. The rod which connects thepair of pistons 19 and q is carried upward, and a valve f is fastened toit to close when required the exhaust-passage cl from the brakecyliuderto the atmosphere. The other rod, which connects the pair of pistons mand 12, carries avalve a, of such a diameter that with a small lift itwill provide a sufficient opening for the passage of the air from theauxiliary reservoir to the brake-cylinder. The pistons m, 71,13, and qare all provided with leather packings, the edges of which are turned,as shown in the drawings. The valve a is at least of equal area to thatof the piston q, so that the closing of the valve f can always beinsured before the valve or is lifted up. As long as the brakes are notto be applied the compressed air enters the distributing-valve throughthe opening I) and passes around the pistons 19 and n into the reservoirby the passage Z. At the same time the pressure, acting under the pistonq, raises the 'valvef and keepst-he exhaust of the brakecylinder open.The air-pressure also acts upon the valve (1, therebykeeping the passagefrom the reservoir to the brake-cylinder closed. When the air-pressureis reduced in the main pipe, the air contained in the reservoir pressesthe leather packings of the pistons 19 and 92 against the valve-casing,causing the said pistons to move inward and the valve f to close theexhaust-passage of the brake-cylinder, and at the same time causing thevalve a to be lifted up so as to allow the air contained in thereservoir to enter the brake-cylinder by the passage Y and apply thebrakes. A lever Z, attached to the spindle of the valvef, may be actedupon by means of wires m and a to raise the valve f, so as to allow thebrakes to be released from any suitable part of the train when they havebeen applied automatically.

In order to enable the engineer to release the pressure in thebrake-cylinder by degrees smaller than the ratio-- area 0t 1) area of n.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a form of my distributingvalve asconstructed for use with automatic vacuum brakes. This valve is similarin construction to the last described, except that the edges of all thepiston leather packings are turned in the reverse directions and thevalvesf and a are arranged to close when pressed upward instead of whenpressed downward, as in Fig. 3. As long as a vacuum is maintained in themain pipe the brakes are off and the air is drawn from the reservoir, itpassing around the edges of the leather packings of the pistons 19 and11 while the valve (4- is pressed against its seat by the outer pressureof air acting upon the piston m, the outer face of which piston islarger than its inner face. To apply the brakes, a certain amount of airis allowed to enter the main pipe, whereupon the piston 91 will beforced downward by the pressure of the air upon the upper face thereofand the valve (1- opened, thereby admitting air from the brake-cylinderinto the reservoir until the vacuum above the piston m has become suchas to cause the valve a to be again seated. At the same time, by thepressure beneath the piston 13 the valve f is closed, so as to cut offthe communication between the brakecylinder and the outside air. Whenthe vacuum is restored again in the main pipe,.

the valve f is drawn downward and air enters the brake-cylinder past thevalvef, so as to release the brakes.

Fig. 6 illustrates a modification of the distributing-valve forvacuum-brakes, in which, instead of the seat-valvef, a piston-valve f isfitted to slide in a cylinder and provided with leather packing, theedge of which is turned upward. Then this piston-valve f is at the lowerend of its stroke, the brake-cylinder communicates through the passage(1 with the outer air and the brakes are applied. As the lower face ofthe pistonf is always submitted to the same vacuum-pressure as thatexisting in the brake-cylinder, the release of the brakes can begradual, and in order to prevent the valve (L from being removed fromits seat during the release of the brakes and the valveffrom openingduring the setting of area of f the brakes the area of m area of n.

In the distributing-valves hereinbet'ore described, both in working withair-pressure and with vacuum power, conical or flat valves, such as areshown at a and f, Fig. 3, are used in preference to sliding valves, soas to reduce to the smallest possible amount the volumes swept orgenerated by the pistons in the said distributing-valves. The reductionof such volumes is of importance, as thereby an increased quickness inthe distribution of the reduction or increase of the pressure along thebrake apparatus contained in a train is obtained, and consequentlystoppages may be eflected within a short distance and with less of ashock or jerk on the cars.

the

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An important feature'of this invention is that by the use of thedifferential pistons m Let Sn and Sm be the respective areas of thepistons n and m; Pp and Pr be the absolute pressures of the air in themain brake-pipe.

and the air in the reservoir, respectively, and Put the atmosphericpressure. Then the pressure Pf in the brake-cylinder will beapproximately PfzSZJPw-Pgfld-Pa in both the air-pressure and the vacuumdistributing-valves. Then if Sn and Sm are equal, or thereabout, theamount of pressure acting' upon the brakes will be nearly equal to theamount of reduction produced in the brake-pipe, either in theair-pressure or in the vacuum, as the case may be. The engineer willconsequently be enabled to regu-- late, as needed, the brake-power whenprovided with either a vacuum automatic brake or with an air-pressureautomatic brake. WVhen it is desirable to obtain a complete applicationof the brakes for a partial reduction either in the pressure or in theSn vacuum in the main p1pe,I make 1.

the reservoir, then I makeuga 1. Practically this latter case is usefulonly when working with air-pressure. \Vhen it is required to reduce inthe brake-cylinder the air-pressure below what it is in the reservoirand at the same time to obtain a full application of brakes for apartial reduction of pressure in the main pipe, an auxiliary apparatus Sis provided, as shown in Fig. 7, between the distributing-valve S andthe brake-cylinder. This auxiliary apparatus contains two pistons a andm and a valve a, like the pistons m and n and the valve (1 in thedistributer; butwhile in the distrib uter I make S3 1 I make in theauxiliary apparatus I l 1, so as to agree with the sought-for exwhichthe valve a in the auxiliary apparatus S remains closed, whatever may bethe subsequent reduction of the pressure in the brakepipe. \Vhen brakesare to be released, pressure is reintroduced in the brake-pipe, whichcauses the valve a in the distributer S to be set against its seat andthe valve f to be lifted up. Then the air which had gone into thebrake-vessel to apply the brakes escapes into the atmosphere through thepassage cl, the valve f being raised.

In the distributer S the space above the piston m does not communicatewith the escape-passage d, as in the case of Fig. 3. In

the auxiliary apparatus 5* the spaces above the piston n and below thepiston m communicate with the outside air.

Figs. 8 and 9 show how the improved distributing-valve can be modifiedin order to make it work, in combination with two main brake pipes, as aduplex brakethat is to say, as a plain brake or as an automatic braketheplain brake pipe being connected with the distributing-valve at M ineach construction. 'l wo valves a and b" are provided to close theoutlet from the brake-cylinder, sothat when working with the plain brakealone the cylinder cannot communicate with the outer air through thepassage d,'fitted with the valve f, hereinbefore referred to.

Fig. 8 shows the application of the plain brake pipe connection M to theconstruction of distributer shown in Fig. 3 for the automaticcompressed-air system, and the connections of the distributers to themain pipe, brake-cylinder, and auxiliary reservoir being as describedwith reference to Fig. 3. In this case the valve ta is normally held toits seat by a spring to close the connection M to the pressure-pipe forthe plain compressed-air system, While at the same time the valve b onthe same stem as the valve a is normally drawn away from its seat. Henceunder ordinary conditions the distri'buterS is adapted to operate on theautomatic system; but when pressure is supplied at M from the plainsystem brake pipe the valve a will be pushed back from its seat by thepressure, while the valve b will close the connection to the atmosphereand the compressed air will find its way to the brake-cylinder to applythe brakes.

Fig. 9 shows the application of the plain vacuum brake pipe connectionto the construction of distributer shown in Fig. 5 for the automaticvacuum system, and the connections are as described with reference toFig. 5. In this construction the valves a and b are on the same stem andare normally in the positions shown-that is, the former closed and thelatter openedand this continues so long as the device works on the an Ibrake the valve b is closed against its seat, while when working as anautomatic brake alone the valve a" is applied against its seat, so as toprevent any communication between the brake-cylinder and the plain brakepipe.

Fig. 10 is a section of another form of distributing-valve, in which n mare two pisin position to establish a communication between thebrake-cylinder and the outside air.

\Vhen full pressure is maintained in the brake-pipe, the compressed airenters the reservoir by passing round the paokings of the pistons 01 and1), while the valvef, under the action of the spring 7t, will be in theposition to establish a communication between the brakecylinder and theoutside air through X, and the pressure of the leather packing of thepisten 1) against the cylinder in 'which it works will be practicallynothing so long as full pressure is maintained in the brake-pipe. \Vhena reduction of the pressure in the brake-pipe takes place, the leatherpackings of the pistons n and p will be forced against the sides oftheir cylinders by the pressure of the air in the reservoir, and thevalve a will be raised from its seat, while at the same time thepressure, acting on the piston 19, will move the valve f against thepressure of the spring it, so as to close the communication between thebrake-cylinder and the outside air, and consequently the brakes will beapplied.

According to another modification of the distributer (shown in Fig. 11)the chamber a communicates with the brake-pipe at u, and the auxiliaryreservoir is charged directly from the pipe and is provided with aretaining valve 7c. The brake-cylindercommunicates at o with the upperside of the diaphragm or piston 19, the rod of which carries the valvef, which, when the brakes are on, is pressed against its seat by theaction of the pressure in the brake-cylinder and of a properlyadjustedspring f. The brake-cylinder also communicates at o with the space abovethe diaphragm m. Upon the reintroduction of pressure in the brake-pipesuch pressure by acting on the under side of the diaphragm will lift thevalve f from its seat and cause the brakes to be released. Two otherdiaphragms or pistons n m are arranged to work in separate chambersbeneath the diaphragm p, but connected together by a rod which isprovided with a valve 6!, to act in the same manner and for the likepurpose, as described with reference to the previous con structions.

I wish it to be understood that in the claims hereinafter set forth Ihave used the term piston in a sufficiently comprehensive sense toinclude a flexible diaphragm, except in those claims in which the otherelements of the combinations defined do not admit of this wide meaning,and I further wish it to be understood that I use the termbrake-cylinder as applicable to any well-known form of such cylinder orvessel, whether having a piston or diaphragm and whether operatingbypressure or vacuum.

I claim as my invention- 1. A distributer for pneumatic brake systems,having two separate valves, one controlling t-he communication betweenthe auxiliary reservoir and the brake-cylinder, and the othercontrolling the communication between the brake-cylinder and theatmosphere, with independent pistons to operate said valvesindependently, substantially as described.

2. A distributer for pneumatic brake systems, having two separate andindependent valves, one controlling the communication between theauxiliary reservoir and the brakecylinder and the other controlling thecommunication between the brake-cylinder and the atmosphere, with a pairof differential pistons to operate the first-named valve, allsubstantially as described.

3. A distributer for pneumatic brake sys tems, having a valvecontrolling the communication between the brake-cylinder and theatmosphere, in combination with an inde pendent valve controlling thecommunication between the auxiliary reservoir and the brakecylinder, andtwo pairs of pistons, each pair operating one of the valves, and eachpair of pistons being connected to each other, but in dependent of theother pair, all substantially as described.

4. A distributer for pneumatic air-brake systems, having two independentvalves, one controlling the communication between the auxiliaryreservoir and the brake-cylinder, while the other controls thecommunication between the brake-cylinder and the atmosphere, incombination with independent pistons carrying the independent valves,the pistons which are open to the main brake pipe, having cup-leatherpacking to allow the air to pass around the pistons in one direction,but not in the other, all substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

LEON SOULERIN.

\Vitnesses:

R0131. M. Hoorna, J. B. BOURNE,

Both of Paris, France.

